ATLANTA, Ga. – Tashard Choice knew heading into the Michigan game in Week 2 that sophomore running back Quintrevion Wisner’s role was evolving from special teams ace to a larger role as a traditional running back. But Choice was concerned. 

Wisner was a state champion at DeSoto in 2022 before enjoying a role on special teams as a true freshman at Texas last season. Bouncing around on the sidelines before a game was fine for a special teams player. A true freshman who didn’t know any better. But not for a running back about to play 30-plus snaps on the road against the defending national champions. 

The sophomore finished the game with 10 touches, eight as a rusher. It wasn’t the breakout game like Oklahoma or Kentucky or Texas A&M, however. And that leads back to his pregame energy. Wisner committed a few mental errors, what Choice calls “M.E.s” when discussing football. Maybe the Michigan game wasn’t his pupil’s coming out party, but it might’ve been Wisner’s turning point. 

“After the game I told him, ‘Tre, you gotta calm down before the game, man. You have to chill out, relax.” Choice said at media day ahead of the Peach Bowl with the same intensity as Wisner probably heard it inside Michigan Stadium. “The M.E.s, the not starting fast, we have to eliminate that.’ Ever since then, he’s been confident.” 

Wisner owes that confidence to his mother, Andrea. The Waco native didn’t need to build his confidence, he just needed to find it. He watched his mother work two jobs and double shifts to provide for him. She still does to provide for Wisner’s two younger siblings as he stars for the Longhorns in the College Football Playoffs. 

He starred at Waco Connally for three years before Andrea earned a new job at a nursing home in DeSoto, a high school football blueblood that produces talent in mass. Wisner earned his stripes in the spring of his junior season as the new kid at DeSoto, sharing a field with five-star prospects like Johntay Cook. The school also produced Byron Murphy and Von Miller. 

The step up from Connally, a Class 4A program, to DeSoto, a state championship 6A program, involved the first spring practice of Wisner’s career. He made it through that grind and learned he could handle the biggest stage in Texas high school football. He helped the Eagles win a state title that year and beat the other 6A state champion – Duncanville – in the regular season. 

The step up from DeSoto to Texas was even steeper, however. The first summer of workouts nearly broke him. Nearly. 

“Summer will make or break you, so there were times I woke in my bed and thought it was about to break me,” Wisner said. “At the end of the day, I made it through. But I didn’t make it through by myself. I made it through with God. With the older guys around me who helped hold me up and tell me how to do things. Those guys guided me to the other side.” 

That other side led to a breakout season and a second trip to Atlanta. The first was for the SEC Championship Game – a second loss to Georgia was the result. Wisner ran the ball 15 times for 5 yards in that loss. He’s run for over 100 yards in three of the last four games of the season, however, and is on the verge of passing the 1,000-yard rushing mark.

Yet, Wisner wasn’t at one of the big tables at the Peach Bowl media day at the College Football Hall of Fame on Monday morning. No crowd of reporters. Not a ton of name recognition. A key cog, sure, but a star? Some say the jury is still out. Choice thinks that jury is delusional, shooting down suggestions of chasing a running back in the portal with Wisner returning and C.J. Baxter healthy in 2025. 

But Wisner doesn’t mind. He was under the radar when he was the man at Connally. He was overshadowed by higher-ranked teammates at DeSoto. And he was seen as a depth piece in a talented backfield room that’s produced Bijan Robinson, Roschon Johnson, and Jonathon Brooks over the last few seasons.

“I don’t see it as a negative thing (being overlooked) because I can just stay under the radar and put in the work,” Wisner said. “I’ve always been a low radar person in general. I’m from a little country town on the outskirts of Waco. I don’t need all the attention.” 

He might get it, though. Especially if he continues to be the most consistent player on the Texas offense as the Longhorns march toward a national title. They’re the betting favorite because of the defense and a perceived easier path. They’re true contenders if Wisner proves any remaining doubters wrong while Choice provides the blueprint. 

“Every time Tre came on a visit he was with Johntay Cook and he didn’t want the attention. (Tre) just wanted to be here, an opportunity,” Choice said. “When you see stuff like that as a coach, I go through the roof for those guys. You need guys like Tre Wisner on your football team. I respect the hell out of him.”